2009 Volleyball

Bluffton takes two at Kenyon

Bluffton takes two on first day at Kenyon

September 11, 2009
By: Erin Neal, sports information assistant

GAMBIER, Ohio -The Beaver volleyball team got off to a great start Friday at the Kenyon
College Invitational, going 2-0 on the opening day of the tournament with a pair of
straight-set victories over Sewanee College (25-12, 25-12, 25-16) and John Carroll
University (25-14, 25-17, 25-20).

Against the Tigers, the Beavers were able to dominate after a slow start and never
looked back. Bluffton went deep into the bench, with each player seeing court time. Sophomore
Heather Rodman (Mansfield/Christian) led the charge for the Beaver attack, pounding 11 kills while
hitting at a .500 clip. The outside hitter combo of Jenna Eshleman (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) and Nicole Wood (Tiffin/Hopewell-Loudon) tacked on nine and eight kills respectively. All-HCAC setter
Shauna Rowland (Bucyrus/Wynford) led the way, orchestrating the offense with 36 assists and providing eight
digs behind sophomore Mandi Leemaster (Fremont/Old Fort) who had a team-high 14 digs. From the service line, Courtney Zimmerman (Leesburg/Fairfield) rifled a career-best four aces against the Tiger serve receive.

In the second match of the day the Bluffton offense was superb, hitting a season-best
.388 against the Blue Streaks of John Carroll. Allison Streicher (Continental), Eshleman and Wood all dissected the Blue Streak defense for 10 kills
apiece. Wood hit a team-high .529 in the match and also added three blocks. Starting
middles Zimmerman and Rodman combined for 12 kills and only 3 errors while putting
up three blocks each. Four Beavers tallied double-digit kills with Eshleman leading
the way at 13 while Streicher and Brittany Roth (Findlay) garnered 11 each and Rowland dug up 10 attacks to go with her 36 assists.

The Beavers continue play Saturday at the Kenyon College Invitational, taking on host
Kenyon College at 11 AM followed by a match against Ursuline College at 1 PM.